


The Feelings of Distance

by sweetbabydean



Series: Po3 Avengers! [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6217537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetbabydean/pseuds/sweetbabydean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassie is still angry at Steve and Steve is suffering. Actually the whole group can feel that aching chasm between them. What will it take to fix that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Cassandra is a child, figuratively speaking. She thinks with her feelings and although she's mostly capable of putting logic first and thinking a situation over, when she's hurt, emotions tend to be in control of everything. So yes, Steve expects her to put distance between them, to avoid him and shoot daggers at him with her wide eyes, but even his artistic brain couldn't have come up with the elaborate way she portrays it. Cassie doesn't bother going to meetings anymore, which Steve can somewhat understand, but even if she's not an active participant in the missions, she should still be up-to-date on what's going on. She won't even be in the same room as him for very long or at all if she has a choice. Just the other day Steve caught her having a conversation with Nat, going on animatedly about something and the minute Steve made his presence known, Cassie paused, face becoming unreadable as she whispered her goodbyes to the redhead.

Steve watches her, catches her eyes sometimes and they look so empty, not anything like the bright and cheerful woman he is used to. She doesn't so much glare, but more so stares right through him whenever they're forced to be near each other. There are no more smiles just for him or really any kind of positive attention. So you see, Steve may be stubborn, but Cassie is even more so. And while he knows that she's hurt, he doesn't know how much of that is actual sadness at the situation and how much is her being childish. So he waits it out and hopes that she'll get over it sooner rather than later.

~

It really isn't until the family movie night that her avoidance hits him full force. They're watching Dirty Dancing because it was the girls' turn to choose and Cassie is literally seated the furthest away from Steve that she can be without entering another room. She's curled around Clint and Natasha, giggling softly as Clint whispers God-knows-what in her ear. Steve's heart aches because he loves her, and on movie nights before the suit issue, that little brunette used to be wrapped around him, claiming that he was "the human incarnation of a furnace" and he misses that. Regardless of his authority and his responsibility, he loves her. It's been weeks since the start of this, and he realizes that he doesn't know what he said that crushed her that terribly. Because Cassie has argued with Steve plenty of times before, even on the same issue, but it's never driven them apart like this.

He watches her interact with Clint and Natasha, blue eyes following her every move instead of watching the movie. Of course he's painfully obvious and everyone in the room knows what's going on. Steve's brow furrows as Zoe, Sam and a few others shoot him a sorrowful look. He's got to put an end to this and fast. 

After the movie, when everyone is retiring their bedrooms, he pulls Zoe aside. He doesn't even get the first word our before Zoe shushes him. "I'll talk to her. But Steve, she's an adult."

"But I was just-"

"I know. You care about her. We all do. But she's a grown woman and some choices are hers to make and no amount of lecturing is gonna change that," Zoe sighs, looking up at Steve. "She's not a kid, honey. I get that it's hard to tell sometimes but she is her own person. But I'll talk to her."

Steve nods his thanks before heading over to the gym. He can only hope that Zoe can get Cassie to come talk to him, until that time some training and energy release would probably do him some good.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unresolved is finally solved.

When Zoe gets to talk to Cassie, the conversation is a bit stilted. Zoe can recognize that it’s not directed at her specifically, but more at the fact that they’re even having this conversation to begin with. Clearly Cassie doesn’t have anything to say, if her uneven huffs and puffs are any indication, but Zoe came with a mission, and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t make some progress with this.

“You have to talk to him, Cas, he’s miserable.”

“Ugh, are you kidding me?!” The girl finally shouts, the first words she’s said for the whole ten minutes Zoe’s been talking. “He’s miserable, right? Can’t stand me being this angry at him? Wants it to go back to normal? But yet you’re the one here right now, talking to me, and where is he?”

“He’s too scared to-“

“Oh, cut the bullshit, Zo! He does this every time. Every time! It’s like he just loves to blow up in my face then turn around and play the victim card. And never, not once, has he come groveling back to me. It’s always me. I always have to take the initiative to fix it. Like I’m the person that did wrong. Like boo-fucking-hoo, I didn’t wear a suit. I never wear a suit! I have not, ever in my life, worn a suit! And it’s not a big deal. I have the same amount of risk for getting hurt with or without one. Do you know how exhausting it is to go through argument after argument about this? I’m not ever going to change and he doesn’t get to decide that, leader or not.”

Cassie’s face is bright red when she finishes, chest heaving with her breaths. She’s been dying to get that out, to talk to someone about this, although she’d have preferred it to have been someone other than her best friend.

“He cares about you, you know. I think sometimes he gets too caught up in trying to be your guardian that he forgets that you’re a grown woman who can make her own decisions. Not that, that is any excuse for him but," Zoe pauses, chewing her lip in thought, “he’s a leader. Wants everyone to be safe and you’re the youngest of us all, Cas. Someone’s gotta look out for you.”

The last line earns Zoe an eye roll and a huff, as to be expected from the younger girl. Cassie’s more than fed up with everyone spewing nonsense about her being the youngest… And so what?! It’s not like she can’t take care of herself; she’s been doing that since she was old enough to walk. Steve is going to have to learn that she can handle it and if she ends up dead, well, then it was obviously her time to go. She’s a plain human, not unlike Clint and Zoe, with no sort of serum keeping her alive and indestructible. She’s been fighting crime (and committing it) without a suit since long before Natasha found her and well, old habits die really hard. She looks at Zoe with something akin to anger on her face, only to have it melt into fondness when she sees her friend staring back at her with those wide, wide eyes.

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll go talk to him. But! I swear, if he makes himself out to be the victim and doesn’t properly apologize, I will stop talking to both him and you,” Cassie glares, pushing herself up out of bed.

“Well, I mean, you don’t have to right now,” Zoe suggests, looking at the glaring red numbers on her watch.

“Nope, too late. If he wants a talk, he’s gonna get it. Two in the morning or not!” She huffs, stomping her feet childishly before walking out of the door. Zoe watches in disbelief, silently praying that all goes well from here on out.

~

Steve’s dripping sweat everywhere; he’s probably ruined about fifteen punching bags this go around and he mentally cringes at the imagined flack he knows he’ll get from Tony was the other man finds out. Still, he hangs another bag and settles into his stance when a figure pops up in his peripheral. At first he thinks he’s seeing things, but then it calls his name, suspiciously sounding like the one person whose causing all this frustration in him in the first place. As he turns his head to meet the person, Cassie comes fully into his view and fuck she’s a sight for sore eyes. She’s leaning up against the doorway to the room he’s in, hair a wild mess and dressed in what looks like one of his (also maybe one of Bucky’s) shirts.

“I, uh,” he begins, not quite knowing what to follow it up with. He has so much he wants to say to her. Most importantly that he’s sorry and that he never wants her to give him the silent treatment again, especially not if it’s anything similar to what they’re going through right now.

“Say you’re sorry, “ Cassie tells him, “and you gotta mean it, Steve. You gotta tell me you’re sorry for treating me like a child or I’m walking away.” And it’s like a flood gate opens up between them.

“I love you but you don’t get to make these decisions for me. I respect you as a leader but not when you’re constantly griping about things you can’t change. You don’t yell at anyone else about this kind of thing, not even Clint! The king of putting himself in danger! I don’t know if it’s because I’m young or if it’s because you think I can’t take care of myself, but god damn it, Steve -“

“I’m sorry,” he replies because he is. “I know… I just…” he struggles, wiping sweat from his eyes and nearly wanting to cry because he’s so frustrated with himself and with the situation. It shouldn’t be this hard to tell her that all he wants is to make up and forget about it.

“I’m sorry and I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. It’s not because you’re young or, well, it sort of is,” he rambles, quickly back tracking when he sees that she’s getting angry again. “But it’s not just that! That’s not even really close to half of it. I just see you out there, no protection whatsoever and you’re like a big neon sign saying ‘come get me’ and I just, don’t wanna lose you because of a damn suit. I don’t want to lose you over a damn argument about said suit either.”

Cassie eyes him warily, walking closer. Steve wants her in his arms, knows he’s grossly sweaty but hopefully she’ll let him get his hands on her anyway. He unwraps his hands as she walks steadily closer, but still taking her time and eyes never leaving him. It’s not like she’s scared, but she’s stubborn, waiting for him to say something that will drive the current wedge between them even wider.

“Come here. Please. I’m sorry,” he rumbles, immediately pulling her into him the moment she gets within reach. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I love you,” he whispers over and over, hugging her tight enough to bruise.

Cassie buries her face into his chest. “I’m sorry too, you know.”

Steve knows, doesn’t need to respond to that. She doesn’t tell him she loves him back, because he knows that too. He’s just thankful they’re okay now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole story was meant to be much longer but uh. After like 6 months of being stuck this is what came out lol. Yikes.


End file.
